This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a yoga class brought to Rose House for the day. Throughout the class, the instructor repeatedly reminded us, “don’t forget to breathe!” It struck me how apt that statement was, not just in the context of yoga, but in my daily life at Cornell. Often it is so easy to begin drowning in work that we forget to take time for ourselves, come to the surface, and breathe. In doing so, we “hold our breaths” in a way that simply makes our responsibilities more asphyxiating. However, being given the opportunity to step away from my responsibilities for about an hour and relax, listening to my body instead of my mind (and my planner) was incredibly valuable. Afterward, I felt energized and much less stressed out than usual. It was as if I could feel the stress physically leaving my body throughout the session (which is aim of mindfulness and yoga, I suppose), leaving me at a much more healthy stress level when the session concluded.
Author Archives: Sabrina Chen
Inspiration at Into the Streets
While the highlight of today’s event was the actual service we as a Rose House team performed, I want to mention the words of Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi at the kickoff event for Into the Streets this morning. VP Lombardi shared an anecdote of his own time in college — a Halloween arts & crafts community service event for young, underprivileged children from the surrounding area. He stressed that this event was the turning point for his own views of community service and his career as a whole (he had originally gone to school to become a musician!), and he told us that while he didn’t expect us all to experience the same life-changing effects as he did, he hoped our opportunity to serve today would help us appreciate the community around us as well as our own privilege.
VP Lombardi’s words stuck with me throughout the day, reminding me to stay positive even when the work became challenging or monotonous. His anecdote also reminded me of my own experience interacting with homeless people at a shelter for which I was helping to organize a clothing drive. In either case, privilege is a dangerous blessing — today reminded me that it is incredibly important to keep in touch with my position in the world in order to ensure that I return positive contributions to it in return for the privilege I receive.
Ecology and Geology of the Cascadilla Gorge
On our tour of the Cascadilla Gorge, Todd Bittner, Director of Natural Areas at the Cornell Botanic Gardens, walked us through both the (relatively) short-term history of the gorge as well as its millennias-long formation. Part of his discussion that I found especially fascinating was of the changes that the natural areas have undergone over time. Millions of years ago, the rock that is now exposed laid at the bottom of an inland sea. Buried within are fossils of aquatic creatures which are completely extinct today. In more recent ecological history, we compared a photograph from a century ago to a current view of the College Ave bridge and observed a change in the greenery around the gorge from largely evergreen trees to the invasive, non-coniferous species we see today. It was interesting to contemplate the similarities between changes that have taken place in such different timelines and be reminded that change is always occurring, whether by nature or by human interference.
On another note, we also learned about Todd’s work on the restoration of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail between 2008 and 2014. He mentioned that upon the trail’s reopening, people remarked that “it looks exactly the same – what did you spend 3 million dollars on?” This was remarkable in that the project had achieved its goal of retaining the authenticity and history of the trail by making it safer and more resilient without changing its outward appearance. The fact that the project was allowed to be funded with that goal in place also speaks to the current values our University and society as a whole have on natural places — in contrast to the era Cornell was founded, during which the gorge was quarried for its stone.
Potentials and Pitfalls of Genetic Engineering
At this week’s Table Talk, we discussed the controversy of various forms of genetic engineering and the forms of competition which drive progress, especially in fields such as science and medicine. One of the forms we discussed was that which occurs between countries. I found this particularly compelling because it reminded me of previous events in the history of the United States and the world: one positive in the eyes of scientific progress and one catastrophic to humanity. The first of these, the space race, mainly provided a motivational drive — a political benefit to scientific progress, and it concluded with one of mankind’s greatest achievements to date, placing a man on the moon. However, the latter of these was the race to create an atomic bomb, and while it also represented great scientific progress, this time in terms of the understanding of radioactive elements, the ultimate result was the death and devastation of hundreds of thousands of people. Ultimately, the question this raises to me is not whether genetic engineering will result in incredible scientific progress — for it undoubtedly will. Instead, will genetic engineering one day find itself the cause of great devastation to humanity? And what steps can we take to prevent such a disaster without hindering scientific progress?I personally have faith in the scientific community in preventing physical threats that would resemble an atomic bomb, such as a swine flu epidemic, but I am less certain about the potential impacts of genetic engineering that will come about based on people’s choices and investments (i.e. designer babies) and what consequences, both physical and societal, may arise as a result.
Empathy In the Court System and Beyond
At this evening’s Rose Cafe, Judge Miller was asked about how he copes with knowing the types and amounts of evil that exist in the world. In response, he stressed the importance of empathy, especially after his experiences working with and defending people who have allegedly committed horrible crimes. He pointed out that people are not black and white — there is always gray area, and humans are full of complications. Very few people are exclusively good or bad, and the best way to witness this is to, as Atticus Finch says, walk in someone else’s skin. This analysis clearly extends beyond the scope of criminal defense, though it is evidently applicable and imperative for those within it. Like criminal defense lawyers, we as citizens of the world are faced with the mixing of good and bad every day, and it is easy to become bogged down in negatives. Judge Miller pointed out that we as humans often attempt to judge people by the most awful action or quality we have heard they possess. Should we continue through life this way, the world would turn into a fairly depressing place. However, much of the conflict in the world today could be solved by a simple dose of empathy and understanding. Despite all the negativity we might witness (and exclusively perceive), we as the future influencers of the world have a responsibility to take that medicine and see the world in a better light.
Human Obsession and the Role of Technology
The episode of Black Mirror that we watched focuses on a world in which memories are replayable, shareable, and deleteable, and it highlights the potential pitfalls one can fall into with access to this sort of technology. In particular, characters often replay incriminating words or phrases in their memories, almost to the point of obsession. However, these effects are certainly not limited to this science fiction technology. In the show, characters would beg for “redos,” in which someone replays and broadcasts their memories for others to view and critique. In our world, however, this same level of encroachment on others’ privacy is not foreign. With the rise and reign of texting and emails over vocal communication, it is all too easy to pick out a phrase or share a screenshot of a conversation and then proceed to dissect and annotate far beyond the significance intended by the sender. For the main character of the episode, repeatedly returning to this action proved horrendously destructive, costing him his family and his own mental health. Technologies such as these have their place to be beneficial tools with moderation, but when personal control is lost, this sort of access can be detrimental. Perhaps human beings are built to stress accuracy and clarity of understanding, but the introduction of replayable technology in any form has the potential for terrifying consequences.